Graduate to Present Psychology Research in London

NEWARK, Ohio, July 20, 2017 – A recent graduate of The Ohio State University has received an academic enrichment grant from the university’s Office of International Affairs. Twenty-two-year-old Jessica Parker of Pataskala completed her entire psychology degree on the Newark campus, and plans to use the funding to present research she conducted alongside faculty in Newark at a conference in London, England this summer.

“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to present my research in London,” said Parker. “At Ohio State Newark, I was able to work one-on-one with professors in several different fields and conduct research. It’s something I would never have been able to do at a larger school.”

Parker will present research on multisensory integration and modality dominance at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. The conference begins July 26 and ends July 29. The Cognitive Science Society brings together researchers from around the world who hold a common goal: understanding the nature of the human mind. The mission of the society is to promote cognitive science as a discipline and to foster scientific interchange among researchers in various areas of study, including artificial intelligence, linguistics, anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and education.

“The research I am going to present examines the processing of auditory and visual stimuli simultaneously across different age groups. We worked with children ages 5 to 11, young adults 18 to 22 years old and older adults 65 and up,” said Parker. “Past studies have only focused on the visual stimuli and did not conduct research with all the different age groups.”

Parker’s academic enrichment grant of $3,726 will be used to fund her trip to London. She graduated from Ohio State in May and plans to eventually pursue a master’s degree in human-computer interaction (HCI). HCI degree programs explore computer user-experience design and user-centered research.

“I need to do some more research into human-computer interaction, but that is the direction I am leaning. I’m excited about the future, and I owe so much to Ohio State Newark,” said Parker. “I had an amazing experience. The smaller campus and warm environment helped me succeed.”

The Ohio State University at Newark offers an academic environment that’s challenging but supportive with world-renowned professors and access to Ohio State’s more than 200 majors. It’s where learning comes to life. Research, study abroad and service learning opportunities prepare students for their careers in ways they never expected.